Spring 2015 Couture

  There is nothing as magical as couture. Exclusive and exuberant, the designers who can pull off couture are few and far between. It would be difficult, and crass, to say that any couture show is better than the other, as each and every one has it's own beauty to it. Therefore, I can't describe this list as the "Best of Couture", just as a compilation of my favorites for Spring 2015. 

  I love Elie Saab, and love is not a word I use lightly. There is not one designer who can create clothing like his, so exceptional, effervescent and elegant that it could bring a tear to a bloggers eye. Some may say Saab is slightly predictable, but why change something perfect? He infused freshness into his brand by adorning the dresses with dramatic ostrich feather, and shimmering floral paillettes. It may be glamour at its highest point, but Saab’s collection also drew deep personal roots, with prints taken from a tulip dress his mother wore as a child. If anything, these pieces served as an alternative to those who want to wear Saab but aren’t fans of the sheer. All in all, Saab does it again, and if I had it my way, Saab would be all we would ever wear. 

  You should know by now that I’m a slave to pairings of the unconventional. Hence, it’s not suprising that I was set up to love the Giambattista Vali show, which paired the aesthetics of Coco Chanel and Janis Joplin. Although it may seem like an impossible pairing, let us not forget that Chanel was none less of an aesthetic ground-breaker than Janis. In her time, she was seen as a style rebel, and frequently broke the norms to create new styles for the IT woman to wear. Giamba took the styles of these two icons and veiled them with a thin layer of spring, where pastels meet acidic tones and dainty flowers spring from the seams. The wide-legged trousers overlaid by a flowing dress were particularly literal interpretations of Joplin, with tweed blazers serving as the Coco counterpart. This was what couture is meant to be; intricate, inspired and iridescent. 

  It could’ve been a sad show at Gaultier today. His first show since terminating his ready to wear line last September, the show could have been a post-battle wound lick. That is, unless you’re Jean-Paul Gaultier and title your show “61 ways to say Yes”. Gaultier doesn’t do sad, and this show proved that point. Instead, he brings fun to what was an otherwise very serious week of Couture. I mean, the man closed his show with Naomi Campbell representing a bridal bouquet. The brides walked down the runway in hybrid creations blurring the masculine and the feminine, in combinations of both the strict and the reckless. Particularly outrageous was Lindsey Wixson in a beekeepers outfit and hair done to resemble a wedding cake. Gaultier puts the Show in Fashion Show, and couture is no exception. In conclusion: Was it camp? Yes. Was it utterly fabulous? Absolutely. 

  Being an Eastern European, I was born with a love of Russian romanticism. Also, as an Eastern European, I can understand the narcissism behind the Ulyana Sergeenko brand. Looking at the clothes, the message is clear, Ulyana is her own muse. Hourglass silhouettes with sharply tailored fits mimic the clothes she herself has worn since being thrust in the spotlight. Her collections are celebrations of Russian culture, and experiments into how far you can really go with detailing and embellishment. Hers is a Russian Dolce & Gabbana world, less Italian but even more feminine. This collection was particularly stunning; with so many intricate details one could stare at each garment for hours. It was the type of clothing you’d expect Audrey Hepburn to wear if she had played Anna Karenina. Ulyana may be selling herself as a brand, but who wouldn’t want to be part of the Russian Princesses world?